July 08, 2010, 11:56AM

The Jefferson Parish School Board on Wednesday night deferred a recommendation by Superintendent Diane Roussel to convert one of the school's system's lowest-performing elementary schools into a college-preparatory charter school for disadvantaged children. Superintendent Diane Roussel said she wants to convert Norbert Rillieux Elementary School in Waggaman, with a school performance score of just under 60, into a Knowledge... Full story »

July 08, 2010, 10:45AM

St. Augustine High School on Friday will present 1976 alum Don Boucree as its new principal, the latest in a series of changes for the Catholic boys college preparatory. Boucree, a 28-year veteran in the Archdiocese of New Orleans' education system, will fill the vacancy left by the Rev. John J. Raphael, who was promoted to school president in... Full story »

July 07, 2010, 11:18AM

Eight Jefferson Parish School Board incumbents have qualified as the three-day qualifying period opened Wednesday for the Oct. 2 election. Signing up for re-election bids were Gene Katsanis in the 9th District, Mark Morgan in the 1st District, Libby Moran in the 7th District, Judy Colgan in the 8th District; Martin Marino in the 6th District, Cedric Floyd in the 5th... Full story »

July 06, 2010, 5:10PM

A $10,000 grant from the foundation named for New Orleans' most famous musician has been given to a University of New Orleans program that lets local public-school students explore the world of jazz. The gift from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation supports an initiative, also named for the legendary trumpeter, in which students can touch and play the instruments,... Full story »

July 06, 2010, 4:23PM

Of the nearly 600 crimes reported on Jefferson Parish public school campuses last year, only one occurred at an advanced studies academy, eliminating the need for police officers at those schools, a newly released study says. "Students are accepted into advanced study schools based on grades, test scores, attendance and discipline," Assistant Superintendent Carolyn Van Norman, wrote in the... Full story »

July 06, 2010, 11:55AM

New Orleans City Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer will host a community meeting in Algiers on Wednesday to discuss increasing recreational activities for area youths. Also scheduled to attend are Judge Tracey Flemings-Davillier of the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, who will talk about juvenile delinquency statistics as they relate to lack of recreational activies throughout New Orleans. New Orleans Recreation... Full story »

July 06, 2010, 11:36AM

Dr. James Diaz, director of Environmental/Occupational Health Sciences at LSU Health Sciences Center, has been named a fellow of the American College of Medical Toxicology. Benjamin Hall, a Tulane neurobiologist, has received a National Science Foundation Career Award, which will provide $920,000 for his study of nerve synapse development and a training course at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.... Full story »

July 06, 2010, 4:41AM

Newcomb College's alumnae organization has launched a book drive for students at two Uptown New Orleans schools. The group is soliciting books for students at Sophie B. Wright Charter School and Benjamin Banneker Elementary School who participate in For the Children, a reading program sponsored by Tulane University's Center for Public Service. The books will be given to children... Full story »

July 03, 2010, 6:23PM

With the second round of federal money waiting to be doled out through the Obama administration's Race to the Top educational reform program, National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel on Saturday discussed the organization's opposition to the program and called on his members to demand changes in an upcoming overhaul of the No Child Left Behind act. Van... Full story »

July 02, 2010, 12:48PM

Officials with the Washington (State) Education Association figured maybe they'd collect about 1,000 titles in a book drive for South Plaquemines High School. The goal was upped to 5,000. But by the end, they received 10,000 books, WEA spokesman Eddie Westerman said. South Plaquemines 10th-grade English teacher Jennifer Dotson, who had her students write letters to the WEA, explaining... Full story »